FBN: What will the BOT do with the excess property purchased in the recent Sienna HS land deals?

With Sienna School Site A ‘Go,’ What Happens With Hannover Property?
by John Pape, FBN
With the Fort Bend ISD school board’s decision earlier this week to again proceed with the purchase of a school site in Sienna Plantation, the district will now have to decide what use it will make of the Hannover property in the Arcola area.

Although the Hannover location is still under consideration as the site for a future campus site, some Fresno/Arcola area residents are unhappy with the board’s latest decision, saying trustees “bent over backward” to respond to complaints from the more affluent Sienna community without considering the needs of the less-affluent part of the district.

The Hannover site, located off FM 521 in extreme eastern Fort Bend County, was purchased earlier this year when negotiations to purchase the Sienna site fell through for the first time. Trustees voted to buy the 110 acres from Hannover Estates at a cost of $5.3 million.

In limited public discussions, it was disclosed that the Hannover site was the board’s second choice, but the initial asking price for the preferred Sienna location was too high. Only after the board voted to buy the Hannover property did Sienna developers come back to the table with a lower asking price.

After extensive deliberation, trustees voted to buy the Sienna property for $3.35 million while keeping the Hannover property as well. Several weeks ago, when the Sienna deal appeared to fall through for the second and final time, it appeared the Hannover location would become the home for the school district’s eleventh high school.

When last-minute negotiations between the school district and Hillwood Development revived the Sienna deal, the district was, once again, left with two parcels of property in eastern Fort Bend County. Now, residents in Fresno and Arcola are asking if the district will put the Hannover location to use or simply sell it as surplus property. . .(get the full piece at http://www.fortbendnow.com/pages/full_story?page_label=home&id=88131-With-Sienna-School-Site-A-‘Go-’-What-Happens-With-Hannover-Property-&article-With-Sienna-School-Site-A-‘Go-’-What-Happens-With-Hannover-Property-%20=&widget=push&instance=home_news_lead_story&open=&)